


Incorporating Emaline

by CarmillAddario



Category: Everything Sucks (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-08 00:06:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14682320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarmillAddario/pseuds/CarmillAddario
Summary: What comes after the magical kiss on the stage? How will Kate and Emaline handle their blossoming romance while keeping things under wraps from their friends? Can you really die from eating Pop Rocks and drinking soda? Read on to find out!





	Incorporating Emaline

Everyone noticed on their own that Emaline had started hanging around more, but no one had really given it a second thought.

After all, she had just been unceremoniously dumped by Oliver and could probably use some company to soften the blow. No one really batted an eye anymore when she took her seat next to Kate at the lunch table.

(Well, _almost_ no one. The keen observer might notice McQuaid tensing a bit each time Emaline joined the lunch table, but it was never disruptive enough to alert Luke, Tyler, or Leslie, who had also taken to sitting with the film crew.)

So, really, this Friday was just like any other day when Emaline joined everyone for lunch.

Emaline approached the empty seat next to her…girlfriend? Date? Friend-with-benefits? Next to _Kate_ , she finally decided (although she made a mental note to revisit that little debate later). As always, Kate smiled immediately upon seeing her.

“Hey, Emaline,” Kate said, barely able to keep herself from staring at the blonde’s lips. That had been happening more and more since their kiss on the stage at last weekend’s premiere. Emaline had thus far not called Kate out on her staring, although she always noticed and found it completely adorable.

“Hey you,” Emaline smiled in return. She gently squeezed Kate’s leg under the table and then turned to the boys. “So, what’s the debate-of-the-day?”

“Great question! We’re trying to figure out if eating Pop Rocks and drinking soda will actually kill you, like the legend says,” squeaked Tyler, always too enthusiastic about this sort of thing. “McQuaid says it’s a stupid myth, but I think it could do some damage.” Emaline chuckled and rolled her eyes, clearly with affection.

“Only one way to find out, really,” said Luke with a knowing smile. He’d figured out about 30 seconds in that this conversation would result in everyone piled on his living room couch, hopped up on soda and candy. He was already mentally planning the evening.

“Who’s up for Weird Snacks: Urban Legends edition? You can all come over to my place tonight, per usual, and we’ll test the Pop Rocks theory and maybe watch some classic horror movies to set the mood,” Luke said with growing enthusiasm.

“What’s ‘Weird Snacks’?” asked Emaline, a little warily. Kate just chuckled.

“You’ll have to show up to find out,” answered Tyler gleefully.

Emaline looked hesitant for a moment, but then felt the gentle squeeze of Kate’s hand on hers under the table. She smiled. “Ok, count me in.”

***

Since Kate and Emaline had agreed, at least for the time being, not to discuss their burgeoning “relationship” with anyone else in the group, they decided it would be smart to arrive at Luke’s separately. Emaline, being Emaline, had planned to arrive fashionably late.

When she got to the address Luke had scrawled onto a corner of notebook paper, she found herself oddly nervous. She didn’t feel exactly accepted by these people yet. And she really, REALLY wanted Kate’s friends to like her. She swallowed her fear and rang the doorbell.

“Hey Emaline! You ready for this?” Luke asked as he shepherded her through the entryway, only half-joking. Emaline was about to respond when Kate appeared in the doorway, looking adorable, and knocking the words right out of her mouth.

“Hey Em,” Kate smiled. Couldn’t HELP but smile, really.

“Hey. Wanna show me the ropes of this Weird Snack thing?”

***

2 hours later, Kate, Emaline, Luke, Tyler, McQuaid, and Leslie were all crashing from the sheer volume of sugar they had consumed (for the record, no one died of Pop Rocks). All eyes were focused, albeit glazed over, on the B-grade horror movie Luke had selected.

Kate and Emaline, situated closely on one end of the couch while Tyler stretched across the other side, huddled together under a blanket. If asked in that moment, neither could describe anything about the movie playing in front of them; both were completely intoxicated by the other’s nearness.

“Hey you,” whispered Emaline into Kate’s ear. Kate looked at her and smiled. “I love this; I love spending time with you and your friends.”

Kate grinned at this. She would love nothing more than to involve Emaline in every part of her life. She wanted so badly to kiss Emaline in that moment, to show her she was more than welcome here, and anywhere else Kate might ever be. In that moment, Kate made a decision.

“I want to tell them about us,” Kate said bluntly, as she was wont to do.

Emaline looked confused. “Tell your friends? About us? You’re…you think you’re ready for that?” She whispered. Being the older, more experienced, more open of the two women, Emaline had made sure to respect Kate’s feelings about coming out to everyone. But if it were up to her, she’d have shouted from the rooftops that Kate Messner was her…girlfriend? Date? Friend-with-benefits? She still didn’t know. But she couldn’t help feeling excited that Kate was ready to start opening up.

Kate smiled at Emaline’s clear concern for her. But one of the great things about Kate Messner was that, once she made a decision, she committed instantly and with full force.

“Hey you guys,” Kate said aloud, and everyone turned to acknowledge her. “Just so you know, Emaline and I are sort of… _seeing_ each other. Or dating, I guess. I actually don’t know what to call it, but I think I’m in love with her, so…”

When Kate looked around the room to gauge her friends’ responses, she was met with a range of reactions. Luke and Tyler looked shocked, Leslie appeared to be thinking things over, and McQuaid looked almost relieved for some reason Kate couldn’t pinpoint.

But Emaline’s was the reaction she cared about most, and she couldn’t quite get a read on it yet. Emaline’s expression was a mix of confusion and shock. “You’re in love with me?”

Kate just shrugged and smiled, as though it were a long-accepted truth. (It really was.)

“Is that okay?” She asked Emaline, the vulnerability in her voice echoing Emaline’s when she asked the same question of Kate in the stairwell all those days ago.

“Yes,” Emaline said quickly and with an insuppressible grin. Both girls seemed to forget they were in the company of others and sweetly brought their lips together.

After a few awkward beats, McQuaid broke the silence.

“Thank GOD you guys finally told everyone. I’ve been afraid I’d spill the secret ever since I walked in on you two in the auditorium after the premiere.”

McQuaid’s relief was met with laughter and surprise (neither Kate nor Emaline had realized that anyone had witnessed their kisses, not that they could be blamed. An earthquake could have ripped the town of Boring right in half and neither girl would have felt a thing in that moment.).

“Well, now that you all know, I’m sure none of you will mind if I walk my girlfriend home?” Emaline asked, grabbing Kate’s hand and growing more comfortable with this group by the second. The newly-minted couple said their goodbyes and headed out the door.

***

The 15-minute walk to Kate’s house was cool and quiet, a welcome change from the sugary chaos that was watching movies at Luke’s. The girls strolled along, hand-in-hand, each pretending outwardly that they weren’t inwardly doing cartwheels over the new status of their relationship. It was Kate who broke first.

“So, we’re girlfriends?” She asked Emaline, a little more dreamily than she had intended, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

“So, you’re in love with me?” Emaline countered. Kate could do nothing but smile.

“I guess you’d better get used to Weird Snacks at Luke’s; I think you’ll be attending a LOT more regularly.”

“Can’t wait, sweetie. And by the way, I think I’m in love with you, too.”


End file.
